


childish cruelty

by moonflowerslove



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Minor Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24285556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonflowerslove/pseuds/moonflowerslove
Summary: you couldn't really blame them- they're just kids.------an attempt at a gon & killua character study from the perspective of leorio.
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck
Comments: 5
Kudos: 143





	childish cruelty

**Author's Note:**

> trying to see killua and gon thru someone close to them's eyes, so a slight character study! lmk what u think I'm new to writing! thanks for reading!

It’s not that Killua and Gon were cruel, Leorio thought, no- anything but. It’s just that they were children and children, no matter how mature, were always a bit cruel, always a bit too blunt and just a bit too honest for their own good. Always a bit _selfish_.

Gon had once shared how as a younger kid, his Mito-obaa-san told him, “The most important thing in this life is to be happy in whatever you do. Make decisions that will make you happy, because being happy is something that you will never regret.” And it was clear that he had taken the older woman’s words to heart, and as literally as possible.

Because though Gon may seem like the personification of sunshine, he was much more like the star itself. This large mass of _energy_ , bathing you in its warmth but with a heated, painful surprise if you ventured too close.

People _orbited_ Gon, he realized, hearing his words and being included in his solar system but never really being able to understand him or his intensity, never able to keep up with him, but instead trailing him at their own paces.

Gon was an extremely bright child. Though isolated from children his own age and thus a bit slow on the uptake sometimes, he was polite- something instilled in him by his Mito-obaa-san. He stated his intentions clearly, and whether you took him at his word or not was up to you, and if you were hurt in the end by his actions- that was also up to you.

The young boy didn’t mean to hurt people’s feelings, or maybe he did, but he had one objective in this life and that was his _own_ happiness. He would help you with your quest, with your revenge, with your issue, with your mission, but in the end it was to achieve his own happiness through adventure and including even more people in his orbit.

Killua, similarly, lived for pleasure.

Despite being raised with the exact opposite in mind- with a family over individual mentality, Killua chose _only_ to serve _himself_ in this life. It made sense- he had spent his childhood being miserable and doing exactly what his family thought was best and decided that he should be happy too.

Killua however, he decided, was dangerous. The boys were meant to be friends, he realized this. Hell, _everyone_ who met them and saw the way they interacted realized this, and Killua’s family was forced to recognize this as _painfully_ as possible.

But Killua, to Leorio at least, existed as this sort of cruel guardian for Gon’s needs and desires. Killua couldn’t really conceptualize what he wanted for himself- the closest he had come was the Hunter Exams and since then he had been following Gon around- maybe because he had found what he wanted for now. What he wanted was to make Gon happy.

And in that way, they were _perfect_ for each other.

Gon constantly wrapped up in fulfilling his own desires, and Killua floating just beside him as some sort of deadly fairy, ready to make Gon’s dreams come true and perhaps do what Gon couldn’t to make sure he was happy. Because as long as Gon was happy, so was Killua.

They _swirled_ each other brightly, leaving bright spots in the eyes of those who thought to interact with them, _blinding_ them to the darker sides of the relationship and _scorching_ those who thought to interfere, till they never considered such a thing again.

Killua was like a flower, _forced_ to bloom in the presence of Gon’s sheer energy, and he would do anything to make that feeling of being open, being beautiful, last.

Gon recognized Killua’s devotion and, dare he say, seemed to return it with his own- including Killua’s continued happiness as a stipulation for him remaining happy as well.

They were both wells of natural talent and tenacity.

And above all, they were _children_.

Powerful and constantly faced with dangerous situations, yes, but children all the same. Only able to focus on themselves and their goals and their pride. 

He wondered if Kurapika or Gon’s obaa-san felt the same way- or if there was anyone close enough to them that had learned to look past the initial flares and see what he _saw_.

Because what scared him the most was his inability to judge them for this.

Killua and Gon were a perfect mix of charisma, natural talent, hard work, and pride.

Though there was something to say about where hard work could get you in life, it was always better to start the race a couple feet ahead and that’s exactly what natural talent could do. The average person could work for his entire life on one subject and become a master of it, and _still_ not be as acknowledged as the genius who was simply born with the capacity for greater understanding and learning. Gon was born from a well known pro hunter and Killua was literally made to be successful. As much as both boys worked to improve, he’d be damned if he couldn’t say they started off amazing.

And to accompany this came their capacity for hard work, though this initially applied more to Gon than Killua. When given a goal or when trying to meet an expectation for themselves, the boys would stop at _nothing_ \- pushing their bodies far past their limits and straining themselves, healing, then starting all over again in the name of improvement. Neither of them believed _any_ goal was unattainable and that was a dangerous mindset for someone already naturally talented to have. They were ambitious and omnivorous in their willingness to learn new things to accomplish their goals. This universal diligence only built upon their strong foundation of natural intelligence.

Charisma could have the strongest person falling at your feet. Though Gon seemed to shine more intensely, you couldn’t help but be drawn to the younger Zoldyck, to be caught in his cat-like gaze was similarly exciting and terrifying, the conflicting emotions caused by what seemed like a blank, yet playful stare inspired many to approach him- to want to know what the boy with the deadly gaze was like, maybe even measure yourself against him. Killua could weave you into a comfort zone with his words and drawling voice, making you want to spill your guts. Gon, in the exact opposite sense attracted people because of his openness and straight forwardness, wanting to be bathed in his light and warmth, to gain inspiration from him.

Perhaps their greatest downfall, or maybe their greatest motivator outside of happiness, was their pride. Pride had Gon risking his life to fight a _significantly_ better opponent. Pride had Killua cutting ties with his family, who could perhaps be his greatest resource in this world of politics and power. But pride meant they had something to defend, something that gave them the hunger to win and be better and to be _happier_ than everyone else.

The boys took all the factors of their personalities into account and _understood_ how they affected people and how influential they could be. They knew exactly what they were doing. 

And this was frightening because, apart, they were already meant to be brilliant. They would always shine alone. 

But together, they were _unstoppable_.

They would be happy even if it killed them.


End file.
